The Searcher by Tana French Series: Cal Hooper #1
Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by Penguin on October 6, 2020
Format: Audio/Physical (464 pages) • Source: Library, Spotify Audiobooks
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Best Book of 2020
New York Times |NPR | New York Post"This hushed suspense tale about thwarted dreams of escape may be her best one yet . . . Its own kind of masterpiece." --Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
"A new Tana French is always cause for celebration . . . Read it once for the plot; read it again for the beauty and subtlety of French's writing." --Sarah Lyall, The New York Times
Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.
"One of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox) weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense, asking how to tell right from wrong in a world where neither is simple, and what we stake on that decision.
My book club is really getting me out of my comfort zone at times but so far it hasn’t been a successful endeavor lol. I guess I just know what I like, and this kind of book is not it. The books that were already on my TBR when we selected them have generally worked out pretty well, and the two books I’ve read ONLY because of the club… not so much. Why do we need to read about annoying men?
This book follows Cal Hooper, a retired Chicago cop who moves to Ireland to fix up an old house and live quietly post-divorce. When a young boy approaches him one day and asks for help looking for his missing brother, Cal can’t resist helping him out.
Unfortunately, this was SO INCREDIBLY BORING. I could truly sum up the plot in three sentences (just add one to the paragraph above that describes the ending) and yet I had to read almost 500 pages. Even the reveal at the end was incredibly obvious. Most reviews were surprised by it but I thought it was pretty glaring who was involved.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I just don’t like reading about men. Or cops / ex-cops. Or guns and hunting. Unfortunately all three of these things were present in spades. Tana French wrote Cal Hooper in a way that a lot of men write women – stereotypically and frustratingly. Did we really need to hear about him adjusting his balls? I just prefer reading about women or a dual POV romance book with a man at most. I don’t like reading about cops for reasons I won’t get into here but you can probably guess. And finally, he’s showing Trey his gun and how to shoot and hunt and going into too much detail about taking apart dead animals. At least they were eating them after killing them, but this is a plot point that’s very much not for me.
The setting was awesome and I liked some of the side characters – those things were really the only saving grace. Trey and Lena were enjoyable, along with the rest of the town and farmland. There’s something about it that would have me slightly intrigued about the next book but I can’t imagine it’s any more interesting than this one.
The Lodge by Kayla Olson Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Published by Simon and Schuster on January 7, 2025
Format: Audio/eBook (352 pages) • Source: Libby, Spotify Audiobooks
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USA TODAY BESTSELLER
From the author of The Reunion, a cozy rom-com about a writer who decamps to a Vermont lodge for work but finds herself distracted by the charming ski instructor next door.
Alix Morgan just got her big break as the ghostwriter of a memoir by Sebastian Green, a former member of the boy band True North. And when he offers her a penthouse at a luxurious resort in Vermont, she jumps at the chance to work far away from her noisy, cramped apartment.
Her career as an entertainment journalist has been building toward this dream job—after all, she used to cover True North and was one of the last people to interview former front man Jett Beckett before he disappeared. As she combs through her client’s voice memos, the specter of the missing lead singer remains, and fans are desperate to know the full story.
But Alix also has time for some fun at this glamorous resort, where she begins ski lessons with a handsome instructor named Tyler. As Alix and Tyler fall in love on the slopes, Alix’s work takes a complicated turn—and the mystery of True North’s downfall may be hers to solve.
I was really looking forward to this book and waited forever for my copy to be available on Libby. I was seriously on the hold list since November and it came available in February, and the library kept acquiring copies! The Vermont ski resort setting, mystery of a missing pop star, and celebrity memoir-writing main character were all up my alley. Unfortunately I think the premise/concept was absolutely better than the execution.
Things I loved:
- The setting – the Vermont ski resort setting was everything. I could picture all of the buildings and just wanted to cozy up there in any spot or the penthouse where the main characters were living. I’m definitely a sucker for a resort setting of any kind and this one was top-notch!
- The overall premise – like I said, poor execution of a great premise. I’ll explain more in the next section so I won’t belabor the point here.
- The format – in between each chapter, the book featured some kind of media element to add to the story (chat messages, comment sections, articles, transcripts, interviews, etc.). I love mixed media books and that was a fun addition to the story.. nothing crazy or complicated but just a nice touch!
- The ending and resolution – I think it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, but I still thought it was good and worth the read. I almost DNFed when it was taking me the entire month to read but I decided to keep going because I was just curious enough to see some reveals.
Things I disliked:
- The writing – the style (especially as it relates to my next point, which will have more details) just did not work for me! I’m afraid to read Olson’s other book despite already owning it.
- The couple and banter – I didn’t love her writing of the main couple and their conversations. I could tell she was attempting some Emily Henry / Abby Jimenez banter but it absolutely did not deliver. It was very cringeworthy in my opinion. I didn’t enjoy their interactions and therefore really struggled to get on board and believe in their relationship, especially because it escalated so quickly.
- The mystery of the missing popstar – this was incredibly obvious. I won’t spoil it but if you can’t guess what’s going on within the first chapter (or even the synopsis), I’d question you haha.
- The family stuff – unfortunately the family issues for the FMC were just not fleshed out enough for me and unfortunately they were needed to move the plot forward in the end, so it’s not like she could have just omitted it. I needed a lot more.
All in all, this book was middle-of-the-road. Maybe others won’t have the same issues as me but I would find it hard to recommend this based on the fact that I didn’t like the romance very much… which is the entire point of the book. I much preferred the scenes where she was sitting in the cafe or interacting with other people instead.
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